Viscosity control is essential in many of today's manufacturing and printing processes. Viscosity is the measure of the resistance of a fluid to deformation by either shear stress or extensional stress, but is commonly perceived as the “thickness” or resistance to flow of a fluid. Viscosity can be an important quality of a finished product (e.g. a lubricant, paint, or ink) or can affect a finished product (e.g. printed material). Perhaps more importantly, an inappropriate viscosity can adversely affect modern industrial equipment. For example, if the viscosity of printing ink falls outside of an acceptable viscosity ranges, not only is print quality affected, but the printing press can also become fouled.
In many processes, viscosity is continuously monitored and adjusted as needed. In many cases, viscosity is adjusted by adding additional solvent and/or solute to a mixture. Such additions will not immediately integrate the mixture, and therefore neither effect the desired viscosity adjustment nor allow the user to determine with a viscometer whether the adjustment was sufficient to produce the desired viscosity.
A variety of mixers are used to mix industrial chemical, such as printing ink. These mixers suffer from a variety of drawbacks. First, conventional mixers can cost approximately $500. This cost must be multiplied by the number of vats to be mixed. Second, many conventional mixers incorporate a significant amount of air into the mixture, especially where the fluid level in the vessel is low. In addition to distorting a viscosity measurement, this air can degrade processes such a printing.
Accordingly, there is a need for an affordable device capable of mixing liquid without incorporating air.